Tag: regulation

Yesterday marked the last day of session for the U.S. House of Representatives until September. (The same does not hold true for the U.S. Senate, who will stay in Washington through August due to historic obstruction by the Democrats.)

As I headed back to Minnesota to continue working in the district, I reflected on the House’s accomplishments so far for you and your family. After years of struggling to not just get ahead, but to keep up, Americans are finally starting to see opportunity, jobs and confidence come back.

Yesterday, the U.S. House sent the largest pro-growth, deregulation bill in decades to President Trump’s desk. Today, I was fortunate to be at the White House and watch as he signed it into law. S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act will roll back some of Dodd-Frank’s most harmful regulations to small financial banks and credit unions.

The bottom line: Dodd-Frank did not work. Both chambers (and both sides of the aisle) agree that the “one size fits all” regulation style from Washington has done little but destroy economic potential and left Main Street – quite literally – to pay the price for a crisis for which they were not responsible.

Last week, the United States celebrated Small Business Week to honor the 30 million small businesses that keep this country running. In Minnesota, there are more than 500,000 small businesses employing over one million Minnesotans.

Yesterday the National Federation of Independent Business reported historic numbers thanks to Republicans’ pro-growth policies like tax cuts and deregulation. Small business optimism is the highest it’s been in 30 years while reports of improved earning trends were the highest in survey history.

Recently, we have been hearing more and more about a new kind of technology called blockchain. It’s perhaps more recognizable by the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, created in 2008. Blockchain, the underlying technology behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, may prove to be one of the most groundbreaking advancements in our history.

This exciting new technology doesn’t just affect currency and finance. It permeates all sectors of our economy, from healthcare to retail, into data, national security and beyond. Among other reasons, blockchain is incredible because it gives advantage to the individual, not to the government.

As blockchain technology continues to grow, it catches the attention of the federal government. Congress has certainly taken a closer look, myself included.Read More

This article on H.R. 2954, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, was published in the Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2018. Read the full article here.

Excerpts:

The legislation would allow a significant proportion of community banks and credit unions to escape reporting requirements that came into effect this month. The new requirements fall under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, a law enacted in 1975 to curb discrimination against minority borrowers.

The bill introduced by Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.) has a good chance of becoming law because a broad Senate financial-deregulation bill, introduced in November with bipartisan support, includes a similar provision. Mr. Emmer said he expected a few House Democrats to support his bill.

The bill is expected to cover roughly a quarter of the U.S. mortgage market, Mr. Emmer said in an interview.

“These thresholds will still require the Wells Fargos, Bank of Americas and JPMorgans of the world to report data but it will provide relief to little guys, community banks and credit unions,” he said.

Financial institutions, particularly community banks and credit unions, have complained about new disclosure requirements, citing compliance costs and data-security concerns.

Specifically, the legislation would expand the exemption to lenders that originate fewer than 500 closed-end mortgage loans in each of the two preceding calendar years, up from 25 loans currently. The threshold for open-end home-equity lines of credit would be raised to 500 loans a year from 100 loans currently.